Difference between revisions of "Viscount"

A '''viscount''' (feminine: '''viscountess''') is a noble peer ranking below a [[count]] and above a [[baron]]. It was one of the least-awarded titles in the [[Peerage of Westarctica]] until 2018, when it exploded in popularity.

From 2001 - 2004, during the time Westarctica was known as the [[Achaean Territory of Antarctica]], no viscounts were created. Although the title was authorized under Article 34 of the [[Achaean Royal Charter]], the article only permitted the title to be bestowed upon the child of an Earl or Countess. Curiously, the law also described the land ruled by a viscount as a "vichy" and that it should be comprised of two or more baronies combined.

In June 2004, when the Achaean Territory transitioned to the [[Westarctica|Grand Duchy of Westarctica]], [[Grand Duke Travis]] altered all existing peerage titles, lowering them in [[Order of Precedence in Westarctica|precedence]]. The first viscount created at this time was the [[Viscount of Whitmore]], who had originally been granted the title Duke of Whitmore, a title derived both from his name and from the [[Whitmore Mountains]]. Shortly after, on 26 June 2004, Emilio Garcia was granted the title [[Viscount of Siple]], and given autonomous control over [[Siple Island]]. This title was later [[mediatization|mediatized]] and placed under the authority of the [[Grand Duke Niels of Flandrensis|Prince of Siple]].

From 2005 - 2015, no new viscounts were created until Sir Terry Perkins, [[Order of the Snowflake|KtS]] requested a peerage title that had some historical providence in Westarctica. In response, [[Grand Duke Travis]] made him the 2nd Viscount of Reynolds, the [[First Viscount of Reynolds|1st Viscount]] having been [[disbarred]] for lack of ability in 2005.

In 2018, on the advice of the [[Royal Council]], the title was again brought into general usage and began to be granted to supporters of [[Westarctica]]. From 2018 - 2019, 23 titles of viscount were granted, 22 as primary titles and one as a subordinate title for the [[Count of Goldstream]].